BOX OFFICE

Kicking off the summer with the biggest opening of all time, Spider-Man set a dizzying record, which looks likely to hold up for a while. Star Wars: Episode II opens next week, but George Lucas’ famed fastidiousness limits the number of screens that may carry his epic, so Yoda might stand a better chance against Spidey in the box office marathon than in the sprint. As for the previous record holder, Harry Potter is estimated to have opened on 700 more screens than Spidey, but its longer running time yielded fewer shows per day. If Harry slims down, though, wizard-starved kids may tear down Spidey’s web.